Blog

Why the “E” needs to be Removed from E&C: UptonFirst Order of Business, Healthcare; Sterns, the deficit; Barton,Bipartisanship; Shimkus, Who Knows, He Didn’t Speak to Reporters.Politico (11/30) reports, “Upton,Barton and Reps. John Shimkus and Cliff Stearns all made their presentations tothe GOP Steering Committee Tuesday. The panel, loaded with loyalists toincoming Speaker John Boehner, is expected to make its decision by nextTuesday. After being asked about his pro-life position by a member...

Beach Scopes: Lisa JacksonKickin’ It in Cancun This Week, Laments that Carbon “Pollution” Isn’t “Easy toPhotograph,” and Is Thus “Less Easy to Get People Riled Up About.” EnergyGuardian (11/30, subs.req’d) reports, “Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jacksonsuggested in a speech Monday that congressional opposition and voter apathy tocapping greenhouse gas emissions was the outcome of her agency’s 40 yearsuccess in regulating pollution. “We’ve gotten to the point now where we...

If You Read Only OneArticle This Week, Make It This: Thousands of Folks Who Returned to School toLearn How to Do “Green Jobs” Find Themselves Without Work Because Of It.Washington Post (11/23) reports, “Anton has been out ofwork since 2008, when his job as a surveyor vanished with Florida's once-sizzlinghousing market. After a futile search, at age 56 he reluctantly returned toschool to learn the kind of job skills the Obama administration is wageringwill soon fuel an employment boom: solar...

Sierra Club Drops the FigLeaf on Coal: “We Don’t Want It Burned At All” – Too Bad the ChineseDon’t Speak Na’vi. NY Times (11/21) reports, “At ports in Canada, Australia, Indonesia,Colombia and South Africa, ships are lining up to load coal for furnaces inChina, which has evolved virtually overnight from a coal exporter to one of theworld’s leading purchasers. The United States now ships coal to China viaCanada, but coal companies are scouting for new loading ports in WashingtonState. New...

Land Men: Senate EPW DemsUnveil Ambitious Agenda for Lame Duck Session – Mostly Involving ForcedAcquisition of Millions of Acres of Currently State and Private Land. E&E News (11/19, subs. req’d) reports, “Lawmakers are working to bundle a slew ofwaterways, public lands and wildlife bills into a monumental natural resourcespackage that could attract enough bipartisan support to pass before Congressends next month. Success is far from assured, aides say, given the lame-ducksession's...

This isLeadership: No Offshore Drilling in Michigan, That’s Not Stopping Fred Uptonfrom Leading Charge Against Carol Browner/WH Drilling Ban.The Hill (11/15) reports, “A Michigan Republican seeking to chair theHouse Energy and Commerce Committee is pressing White House energy czar CarolBrowner for information about controversial changes her office made to a MayInterior Department report on offshore drilling safety. In a letter to BrownerMonday, Rep. Fred Upton asked about recent findings by...

Recipe for an Offshore Ban:One Part Delay, One Part Denial, One Part Ennui – Any If All Else Fails,Simply Refuse to Hold Lease Sales. Houston Chronicle (11/12) reports, “Although the Bureau ofOcean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement has not announced any delayin the planned lease sale covering offshore tracts in the central Gulf ofMexico, oil industry lobbyists and analysts said it is unlikely to go forward.Analysts at FBR Capital Markets predicted the March lease sale “is likely...

Advice:Compromise on Energy will Compromise New-Found Republican Majority. E&E News (sub’s req., 11/12)reports, “President Obama and Republicans have repeatedly highlighted energy asan area where compromise and progress can be found over the next two yearsafter the tumultuous and partisan midterm elections. But the prospects for anyprogress will land squarely on the shoulders of a few Democratic and Republicansenators who can successfully negotiate and woo allies from the other party.But who...

Science of the Lambs: AdministrationPledges Fealty to “Science” At Every Turn – But When Science Points toMore Energy Exploration, WH Re-Writes the Script.Associated Press (11/10) reports, “The latest complaint fromscientists comes in a report by the Interior Department’s inspector general,which concluded that the White House edited a drilling safety report in a waythat made it falsely appear that scientists and experts supported theadministration’s six-month ban on new deep-water drilling....

Dear Mr. Bromwich, IfYou’re Looking for Cash to Run Your Agency, Here’s a Formula That Works: LeaseSales = Revenue. Drilling = Production = Royalty Revenue. Politico (11/9) reports, “Offshore drilling reforms implemented in thewake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill may be in jeopardy unless Congressapproves a substantial cash infusion, the administration’s industry watchdogtold a panel of investigators today. Michael Bromwich, director of the Bureauof Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and...